Havoc 2025

CGI car chase scenes don’t work for me. Mukhang cut scene sa isang video game. Hindi tangible, and the camera movements are so cool to the point na parang impossible ireplicate in real life cinematography. The whole visual feels like a noir film shot on green screen, parang Watchmen ni Zack Snyder: highly stylized, contrasty, moody lighting with a graphic novel feel. The problem is, the backgrounds sometimes feel detached from physical reality. It looks artistic, but it doesn’t feel like a real space. Even the world building and production design feel inspired by Zack’s visuals. Lots of film grain too, which adds texture but also makes everything feel a bit artificial. What really stands out is the gritty, haunting, and suspenseful score. May certain notes that immediately reminded me of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The score leans heavily on low brass, heavy percussion, deep taiko like drums, ominous horns, and sustained dissonant strings that make the tension feel big and primal. There’s also layered low synth and ambient noise that gives it a dark, almost dystopian tone, very similar to the Zimmer and Junkie XL approach. The film also touches on some real-world ideas. Big tickets in politics have tentacles in law enforcement, and law enforcement has eyes and ears in the streets. That part felt grounded and believable. Tom Hardy looks better here as a guilt stricken, sleep deprived individual than him being Eddie Brock. Ang bobo at ang bagal lang talaga ng security detail ng mayor, hindi kapanipaniwala haha. Still, the action itself is brutal and staged right, especially when paired with a Christmas song. That juxtaposition works. This is basically a cop racing against his co-cop to save the ass of someone he owes. Very chaotic, very messy. The club fight scene clearly shows the style and energy of The Raid director. Unstoppable energy. The camera movements are playful but still appropriate to the amount of action. Nice amount of blood too. Knives, guns, and whatever can be used as a weapon. At times, it becomes a 4–5 way battle, parang battle royale. Despite the chaos, the choreography remains readable. Eargasm yung sound design for guns. Ramdam mo yung raw impact. It feels like a lawless, bloody war on drugs city. Got me clapping when Ellie was finally able to shoot the bad guy. The slow-mo shots during the cabin siege were great too. Total bloodbath. The title really earns itself. Havoc, mayhem, messy in a satisfying way. Ito yung klaseng action na hindi ka bitin. Binuhos lahat ng blood lust, action, at fight scenes. Hindi nag hold back, pero at the same time hindi overkill na parang dinadrag na lang yung violence tulad ng BuyBust or some John Wick scenes. Timothy Olyphant was good here. Who would have thought he’d be an effective villain? I loved his good guy role in I Am Number Four as Henry, so this was a nice switch. Love it when Jake killed Jake. What a prick. Another great Christmas movie next to Die Hard.